


The Locked Box

by alexcat



Series: spooktober challenge 2019 [27]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-04 22:50:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21205376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexcat/pseuds/alexcat
Summary: Steve wonders what is in Natasha's secret box.





	The Locked Box

**Author's Note:**

> Spooktober Challenge 2019 prompt: Lock

Steve noticed that there was a locked box on Natasha’s dresser. It wasn’t a jewelry box though. It was a simple wooden box about the size of a book. It had no ornamentation, no fancy padlock. He also noticed that when they traveled, the box was in her bag. Where Natasha went, the locked box went. 

He wasn’t normally a nosy man, but he and Natasha were close, very close. He knew that she didn’t know her family, so the box didn’t contain a family heirloom or trinket. She wasn’t sentimental either, so he doubted it was a memento of any sort. 

He found himself almost obsessed with it, yet he still couldn’t just ask her outright what it was. He had picked it up once or twice when she was in the shower or out of the room. Maybe it was a diary. The size was about right, he finally decided. 

One day, he mentioned the box in front of Clint. He wasn’t sure why, but he did know that though he and Natasha were intimate, Clint was probably still her best friend. 

“Do you know what she keeps in that locked box?” 

Clint nodded. “I do and you should ask her. She’ll tell you. She loves and trusts you, you know?” 

Steve was surprised, both that she loved and trusted him and that Clint knew. 

“I’d hoped so but she never says.”

Clint laughed. “She probably never will, but she does. It shows in her face when she looks at you.”

That evening, Steve was in her apartment. She was making dinner, something Russian that sounded dreadful but tasted good. He was cutting up vegetables for a salad. 

“Can I ask you a question?” 

“You can. I might even answer,” she said. 

“What’s in the box, the locked one on the dresser?”

“I wondered when you’d ask. Only one other person in the world knows what’s in that box.”

“Clint.”

She nodded. “He does. He tell you to ask me?” 

“He said you’d tell me.” 

She seemed to ponder that for a minute then she wiped her hands on her apron and left the room. She came back with the box and a key. She set them both on the table. 

“When you get done with the tomatoes, open it.” 

He finished cutting up the tomatoes and washed his hands. He sat down at the table and unlocked the box with the little golden key. He opened it and there lay a simple black book. It was about four by six inches. There was nothing on the cover. He lifted it out and handed it to her. 

She opened it and laid it on the table. There in her scribble was a list of names in red ink. Beside some of the names was a note, some were unremarked. On the opposite facing page was a list in black. Some of the entries weren’t names but simply numbers. 

He knew what it was immediately. He’d heard her use the term ‘red in her ledger’ but had assumed it wasn’t a literal thing. It was. This was a list of the people she had killed and the wrongs she’d committed, going back many years. He recognized some of the names. The black was a list of things that were good and people she had helped. There were still a few more pages of red than black. 

He handed it back to her. 

“The black outweighs the red no matter what the numbers say,” he told her. “You can’t quantify goodness with numbers and you are one of the best people I know.” 

She nodded and said nothing. He closed the book and placed it back in the box then locked it. He stood up and went to her, she stood by the stove. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the back of her head. 

They never spoke of it again.

**Author's Note:**

> My [**Tumblr**](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/alexcat45).


End file.
